


Mystery in the Rue Morgue

by Aurora_Mandeville



Series: The Masked Butler [3]
Category: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux, POE Edgar Allan - Works, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Gen, There will be others - Freeform, and to America and meet the other demigods, but what did you expect when Nico solves Poe mysteries?, including Hazel, just wait, these stories are only going to get darker as the series progresses, though Poe won't be the only mystery, when they go to England and meet the Pevensies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2019-01-10 09:43:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12296541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurora_Mandeville/pseuds/Aurora_Mandeville
Summary: Being nearby when a murder happens, Nico and Erik find themselves wrapped up in a case of suspense as the police chief asks for their help on a most odd set of circumstances.





	1. Screams in the Night

Nico stretched and yawned as the group walked out into the night.  
“Tell me again why you French have a fascination with the opera?”   
Dr. James laughed, “It’s a piece of sophisticated culture, Nico, and I guess we Parisians just like music in general.”   
“Whatever, can we go back to the house now? I’m about to fall asleep standing up,” stated Nico, letting out another yawn.   
“That boring, my liege, or are you just simply tired?”   
“Eh, how about both?”  
Erik sighed, “Very well.”   
Dr. James patted Erik’s shoulder, “Don’t worry Erik, we’ll make a Parisian of him yet.”  
Erik chuckled, “With you and Mrs. James around, there’s some hope.”   
“Yeah, in your dreams,” scoffed Nico as he held the carriage door open for Mrs. James.   
“Thank you, Nico, at least you’re a gentleman,” smiled Helene. Nico grinned as he jumped in after her, followed by the two men. The carriage lurched forward before rambling off through the lamp-lit streets, going at a steady rate. The sounds of the horses’ hooves and the wheels turning on the cobblestone streets began to lull Nico into sleep. He was just about to nod off when screams pierced the still night, startling him awake.  
“Driver, stop!” shouted the doctor. When the carriage rolled to a stop, Dr. James and Erik bounded out of the carriage. “Helene, stay here!” Nico jumped out after them, but paused as he got to the door. He sensed a soul leaving its body, they were already too late. There was another scream, and he sensed a second soul depart. By this time, the police had broken down the door with the help of Dr. James, Erik, and a few other men, and were rushing in. Nico glanced up sharply, he heard two voices, one was clearly French, the other spoke in a language he had never heard before. It most certainly wasn’t Italian, English or French, nor did it seem to be any other Romance language. Could it have been German? He couldn’t tell, but he did know this, the murderer had already made it outside. He stepped back to the carriage, not relishing the idea of Mrs. James all by herself when there was a murderer on the loose. But when, after several minutes had passed, and only Erik showed up at the door waving them in, Nico breathed a little easier. The two followed his masked butler up to the top level, where Dr. James was looking over a body and the police were taking notes.   
“Mrs. James, could you please stay at the door? Dr. James says it’s rather gruesome. But, since Nico is a detective . . .” Erik glanced at the teen.   
Nico sighed, “Alright, I’ll take a look. And just when I was enjoying myself.”   
“My apologies . . .”  
“Don’t apologize, you didn’t kill this woman.”   
“I know, but I was looking forward to a lovely vacation as much as you.”   
One of the officers approached them as they entered the room, “Seigneur di Angelo?   
“Yes?”   
“You are young to be detective, no?”   
“Is there a problem with me being a genius?”   
“Ah, no, no, my apologies, seigneur, young geniuses are rare. It is just, well, providential that you are here. We are at a loss! Perhaps you can see something we cannot?”   
“Could you tell me what you found out so far?” The officer pursed his lips as he showed him the room. It was a complete mess, furniture broken and glass strewn across the floor, the bed was in a shambles, and a bloody razor on one of the chairs surrounded by strands of bloody grey hairs. He explained that the body of the woman was found battered and bruised up the chimney.   
“I don’t understand it,” murmured Dr. James. “I’ve never seen these marks before, but she was mostly certainly strangled. Who was this woman?”   
“This is Mademoiselle Camille L’Espanaye,” explained one of the neighbors upon entering from checking the rest of the house. “She lived here with her mother, but, I don’t see Madame L’Espanaye.”   
“We’ve searched the rest of the house thoroughly,” reported another officer.   
Nico walked to a window, “Could the murderer have thrown her outside?”   
“What?”   
“Just go check the grounds, Moreau, the boy might be onto something,” ordered the commanding officer.   
“Yes sir,” replied Moreau before taking a couple of men and heading out to the grounds.   
The commanding officer turned to Nico, “So, what do you think, sir? How could two women have been killed with the door locked?”   
“The killer had to have come in and out of the windows, there’s no other way.”   
“But how is that possible? There are no ledges close enough, and that lightning rod? It would take a lot of strength to jump from that rod to the window, and back.”   
“Then let’s assume the murderer does have a lot of strength, it would explain a lot.”   
The officer rubbed his chin, “You have a point there. So he comes in by the lightning rod. But, why kill these two women? And who did it?”   
“Ah, those would be the harder questions to answer. If you don’t mind, I will let you resume your search for clues, something must turn up soon. If you desire my further aid, you may find me at the residence of Dr. and Mrs. James.”  
The officer shook hands with Nico, “Merci, Seigneur, we will be in touch.” Nico nodded and followed Erik out of the house, passing up the men carrying up Madame L’Espanaye’s body. Officer Moreau stopped them in the hall.   
“You were right, sir, she had been thrown out. The blood on the razor must have come from her, her head came clean off when we were trying to gather her body.”   
Nico grimaced, “Oh, man, that poor woman, her poor daughter.”  
The officer nodded, “Yes, we are determined to bring the murder to justice.”  
“Good, good luck with that. My services are available to your department if you ever need any help.”   
“Merci Seigneur, we will keep that in mind. Bonne Nuit.”   
“Bonne Nuit.” Nico gave a quick bow to the officer before he and Erik left the building and returned to the carriage where Elliot and Helene were waiting. The group was on their way shortly, Elliot getting the details of Madame L’Espanaye’s body after Helene went to bed.   
“Do you think they’ll come to you to solve the rest of the mystery?” asked Elliot.   
“It’s a possibility, it’s a rather bizarre case, I’ve never seen nor heard anything like it. I’m tempted to go to the police and help without being asked as I’m rather curious as to the who and why.”  
“As am I,” admitted Erik.   
“Same here,” admitted Elliot, “but may I suggest waiting until they require your assistance? If it’s as strange as you say, they no doubt will come to you soon enough.”   
Nico nodded, “Absolutely true. Well, then, I shall be off to bed.”   
“A good idea. Good night, Doctor.”   
“Good night boys, see you in the morning.” The three separated and went to bed, Nico staying up a bit later, the scene being replayed through his mind over and over again, the horrified faces of the women nearly begging him to bring to light what had happened to them, but they offered no clues. His mind finally slowed down long enough for him to fall asleep, but not before wondering what the next day would reveal.


	2. Different Testimonies

The next few days proved to be rather uneventful compared to the incident of that night, though the newspapers were full of the details and a promise by the police to bring the murderer to justice. It did mention the aid of Dr. James and Nico in finding the bodies and that everything was being done to go over every clue with a fine-toothed comb, but not a single clue was found that could lead police to the murderer. However, as the week dragged on, Nico began to think that the police wouldn’t bother asking for his aid. He was only a teen, after all. How embarrassing would that be if a teen solved a mystery that the police couldn’t? But that notion changed at dinner a week later.   
“Excuse me, Dr. James, but the prefect of the police is here, wishing to see all of you,” announced the butler.   
“Show him in.” The butler bowed and left, returning with the prefect.   
“Good evening, Doctor, Monsieurs, Madame, I am Prefect Gobelin, I hope I’m not intruding.”   
“Nat at all, we were just finishing. Would you like to join us for a glass of wine in the drawing room?”   
“I would be happy to, thank you. Though the business I am on is not worth celebrating.”   
“The murders in the Rue Morgue? They’ve been on our mind as well, the papers have been full of the details, the majority of which we know already.”   
“Quite right, oh, thank you.” Gobelin took the glass of wine from Mrs. James as her husband poured out wine into the other glasses.   
“You’re welcome,” smiled Mrs. James.   
Gobelin took a sip before setting it down, “Well, as you may have already figured out, I’m here to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind.”   
Dr. James shook his head, “Not at all, anything to help bring this savage to justice.”   
“Oh, I’m glad you agree. Now if you don’t mind, I came here myself to ask these questions because I was told by one of my officers that the Seigneur di Angelo offered to help us on this case, is that correct?”   
Nico nodded, “That is correct.”   
Dr. James patted Nico’s shoulder, “Nico saved my wife’s first husband, my dear friend, Ernest Valdemar, from being controlled by a man named Carmichael, who only wanted everything my friend had.”   
“Ah yes, I think I have heard of it, but I also heard of your ability to communicate with the dead. Is that correct?”   
Nico gulped, but replied truthfully, “Correct.”  
“A seance, of sorts?”  
“No, I have a sixth sense, if you will, I can see the spirits without calling on them, if they still walk the earth. And I refuse to do a seance, you can never be sure what you’ll get with one of those, it can be more dangerous than some will let on.”   
Gobelin gulped, “Ah, I see, well, no worries about the seance, but you can solve a mystery without speaking to the spirits, correct?”   
“Yes, with the aid of my butler, Erik, it can be done.”   
“Very well, I want to hire you to aid us in solving this thing.”  
“Wh-what?”   
“Yes, I need your help. I’m under a lot of pressure to have an arrest fairly soon, but as you might have noticed, there wasn’t exactly much to go on. What’s even worse is that none of the witnesses can agree on which language the murderer spoke!”   
“What?”   
“Yes! Did any of you hear the murderer as you broke into the house? A sort of deep voice? That’s the only thing the other witnesses could agree on.” All three males nodded.   
“I did hear him, I heard two voices, though,” replied Nico.  
“Oui, oui, I had been informed of that as well. The second voice clearly belonged to a Frenchman.”  
“Correct, and I think once you find him, you’ll find the murderer.”  
“You think so?”   
“I’m pretty positive, that Frenchman is apparently the only actual witness to the murder.”  
“Should we redirect our focus to finding this Frenchman?”   
“You should still be looking for the murderer as well, we don’t know if the two left together, or not, and if not, we wouldn’t want another murder on our hands.”   
“Quite right, quite right.”  
“If you don’t mind my asking, what languages did the other witnesses think they heard?”   
“German, Italian, and Russian! What did you think?”   
“I too thought it might have been German.”   
“Well, the German stated it most certainly was not German, hence why he thought it was Italian!”   
Nico’s mouth slowly dropped open, “There was a German there? Was there a Russian as well?”   
“Yes, and he thought it sounded like German!”  
“Maybe Asian, instead, my liege?”  
“No, I’m beginning to think the brute wasn’t speaking a language at all, or, at least, one contrived of his own making. In which case, we could be dealing with a madman, and that there is really no real motive behind this.”  
“And it’s quite possible that he may strike again,” pointed out Erik.   
“Very true, but he might wait awhile before striking again. A week has already passed without any other incidents, thankfully. Were your men able to find many clues?”   
“Not very many, I’m afraid. If you wish to take a look at all of them, our department’s head physician, Doctor Dupin, has them in his laboratory, he has been informed of your participation in solving this mystery and is expecting you. Here, his address.” Gobelin took out a card from his coat pocket and handed it to Nico.   
“Thank you Monsieur, I’ll be sure to stop by his laboratory tomorrow.”   
“Excellent, I look forward to hearing your progress, and I will let you know immediately if we find any clues.”   
“Thank you, though, if you don’t mind, perhaps Erik and I might have a look through of the crime scene?”  
“You don’t think my officers did a good job?”   
“No Monsieur, on the contrary, I think they did an exemplary job, it’s just sometimes, a pair of new eyes can find something that someone who’s been looking at it everyday night not catch. Your men are tired, I am not, your men have gone over every inch of that room several times, I have not. If I find something, it is not because your force did a horrible job, but that they did the best they could. If I find nothing, then they have found everything that could be found. Not even I find everything the first time around. That’s all,” shrugged Nico.   
Gobelin nodded in understanding, “I see your point. Very well, I shall write up a permission slip for you, Doctor Dupin will have it for you tomorrow.”   
“Thank you, Prefect.”   
“No, thank you. Now, before I go, if you don’t mind, there are a few more questions I need to ask.”   
“By all means.” Gobelin asked them a few more questions concerning what they saw and heard upon their arrival at the scene of the crime and what happened while they were there. After receiving their answers and going through everything twice, Gobelin left, and Nico’s heart raced. He was actually going to solve a mystery, a real mystery without any connections to the spirit world!


	3. Detectives at the Scene

Erik and Nico rode up to the address given to them by Prefect Gobelin. It was a simple house that, as they found out upon entering, had been turned into a laboratory of sorts for the doctor.   
“Bonjour, you must be Seigneur Nico di Angelo and his butler Erik, the detectives hired to help us solve this bizarre case.”   
Nico shook hands with the doctor, “That we are, and you must be Doctor Dupin.”  
“That I am, a pleasure to meet you,” the doctor seemed to smile, unsure of the duo standing before him. Nico could tell right off the bat this guy was smart, and was observing them closely. “I have found something interesting in the hand of Madame L’Espanaye. Come see and tell me what you think.”  
“With pleasure, this clue could crack the whole case.”   
Dupin gave them soft smile, “It could, it could also make things more complicated.” Nico and Erik glanced at each other, questions and concerns written in their eyes. They followed Dupin to another room where the bodies of the two women laid. There was a table with medical instruments and a microscope all set up. Dupin led them towards the table. There, on a little, clear plate, laid several strands of hair. They were shorter than the strands of hair on the women, and had more of a reddish tint to it that neither woman had.   
“This is hair from the murderer!” gasped Nico.   
“I hope so, however this doesn’t have the same structure as human hair.”   
Nico blinked, “What do you mean?”   
Dupin placed a strand of the hair with a strand of his own under the microscope, “Take a look.” Nico did look.   
“You’ll have to pardon my ignorance, Doctor, but, what am I seeing?”   
“The hair on the right is from Madame L’Espanaye’s hand, the one on the left is mine. Do you notice the differences?”   
“Yes, but, aren’t different colored hair supposed to be different?”   
“They are, but not by much under the microscope. Here, a strand from each woman. May I have one of yours as well?” Nico plucked a strand of hair from his head and handed it to the doctor. Dupin placed them all under the microscope and asked Nico to look again. “What do you notice now?”   
“Well, all of the known hairs are rather similar despite color, our mystery hair is rather different.”   
“Precisely, this means that hair didn’t come from a human, but from an animal.”   
Nico glanced at the doctor, “Her animal furs, possibly?”   
Dupin shrugged, “It’s a possibility, but I need to be sure. Here, Gobelin dropped this off for you.”  
“Ah yes, the permission slip to search the crime scene ourselves.”   
“May I join you?”   
Nico nodded, knowing what the doctor wanted, “Of course. Do you want to head over now?”   
“If you don’t mind.”   
“Alright, Erik?”   
Erik gave a slight bow, “I shall get a cab.”  
“You really rely on your butler, don’t you?”   
“Of course, do you really think anyone would let a well-dressed teen do anything by himself?”  
“An older teen, perhaps, but I see your point. You do look a bit young to be calling on cabs by yourself without an adult’s consent or presence.”   
“Precisely, or much of anything without an adult’s consent or presence for that matter,” mumbled Nico.   
“So what brings you to France, if you don’t mind my asking?”   
“Erik’s uncle, Ernest Valdemar. My father heard of his failing health while he was on business here in France, and ordered us to come to spend the last few days of his life with him. My father gave us a few months to tour Paris, so Ernest’s widow is letting us stay with her.”  
“How kind of her. I heard of some of the details on that incident with M. Valdemar and M. Carmichael. It was kind of you to end Valdemar’s misery.”  
“We couldn’t stand letting them be in such agony, but Ernest did promise Carmichael he could experiment on him, so we allowed him some time. But then he went over that allotted time, and we had to take action.”  
“Well, you made a good decision based on what options you had.”   
“Thank you.”  
“If you don’t mind my asking, what exactly does your father do?”   
“Um . . .”  
“Begging you pardon Doctor, but I have a cab waiting. And, if you don’t mind my boldness for answering, but his father felt it best that he not worry about the family business until he turns sixteen. So many details are kept from his young eyes. And I am sworn to secrecy so as to keep his curious mind from inquiring too much.”  
“I see. Well, shall we get going? We don’t want to keep the cab waiting.”   
“Of course.” Erik gave a bow as Dupin walked out the door. Nico mouthed the words ‘thank you’ and Erik merely nodded before they followed the doctor to the cab. Dupin asked them a few questions about their presence at the L’Espanaye house on that dreadful night. Erik and Nico answered with any details they could remember of the night. Dupin seemed pleased with their replies, and told them of the marks found by Dr. James on the daughter’s body.   
“It really does seem like someone strangled her, yet the marks are not quite right for the human hand, male or female. It’s very close, but not close enough. I can’t make sense of it.”   
Nico nodded, “And then there is the murder weapon, a razor.”   
Dupin nodded, “A very strange case indeed. Gobelin told me his force questioned everyone the women knew, and not a single one could think of anyone wishing to harm them. So, either they were easy targets for a blood-thirsty criminal, or someone is hiding something.”   
“It could be either, or it could be both.”   
Dupin raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”  
“What if someone met the blood-thirsty criminal and thought this would be a great way to get rid of the women, merely pointing the criminal in the right direction?”  
Dupin nodded, “That’s a possibility. You like being a detective?”   
“Um . . . for the most part, yes. May I ask why?”   
“Oh, just curious. Would your father allow you to pursue this career, or force you to continue in his footsteps?”   
“My father is rather approving of me making my own decisions, so if this is something I would like to pursue as a career when I’m older, he’s liable to let me continue down that path.”   
“He is rather doting on you, isn’t he?”   
“Well, considering he can’t dote on my sister or my mom anymore, he’s stuck with doting on just me.”  
“Oh, my apologies, Seigneur, I did not desire to bring up unhappy memories.”  
Nico sighed, “You didn’t know.” They were silent for the rest of the way to the crime scene, not another word being said until they were in the room.  
“Hmm . . . this is odd,” muttered Dupin.   
“What is?”   
“The colors of Madame L’Espanaye’s fur coats are of a completely different color than the hair I found in her hand, and, not a single one left the closet.”   
“Then either the criminal was wearing animal fur, as in a coat or a costume, or they had an animal with them,” concluded Nico.   
Dupin nodded, “So it would seem. Have you found anything?”   
“Nothing so far, Gobelin’s officers have done a rather thorough job, I think. Erik?”   
“Nothing so far on this side, my liege. Everything seems to be just as it was described in the papers.”   
“Alright, so, the criminal climbs that lightning-rod, jumps in through the window, catches the women off guard, kills them, makes a mess of everything, and escapes through the same window and down the lightning-rod.”   
Dupin nodded, “It’s the only way, but, it would require a lot of strength to accomplish such a jump.”   
“Erik, can you see if you can attempt the jump from the lightning-rod to the window? If you think you can’t do it, don’t even try.”   
“I will see what I can do, my liege.” Erik quickly walked out of the room and down the stairs.   
“Is there nothing your butler can’t do?”   
“Oh, there are a few things I don’t want to push the limits on and lose a really good butler, and friend,” Nico mumbled the last couple of words as he approached the window. Erik was quickly making his way towards the rod and shinnied up it.   
“He’s fast! How did he learn to climb so well?”   
“He was in the circus for a while,” muttered Nico in reply, watching Erik’s progress like a hawk. But when Erik reached the point where he needed to jump, he took a glance around and shook his head before climbing back down.   
“He wasn’t able to do it!”   
“Erik is pretty strong.”   
“But not strong enough, clearly, to make that leap. This is one big brute we are chasing.”   
“Yes, and now I’m beginning to worry, what happens if he strikes again?”   
“Let’s hope we can catch him before that happens.” The two glanced at the door, the sound of footsteps running up the stairs could be heard and an officer burst into the room, followed by Erik.   
“I’m so glad I found you, Doctor! You have to come quick! All three of you!” he panted.  
Dread filled Nico's chest as he asked, “Why?”   
“Another woman, dead! And with the same marks on her neck as on those of Mademoiselle L’Espanaye’s neck!” Nico blanched as he glanced at Dupin, they were already too late.


	4. A Possible Suspect

Nico, Erik, and Dupin followed the officer to the scene of the latest crime, a peddler woman was killed in much the same way as Camille L’Espanaye. Her fruit stand was a complete mess, though most of the fruit had been eaten, cores and peels strewn all over the ground.   
“What do you know about the victim?” asked Dupin as he examined the body.   
“She was simply known as Danielle by those she did business with. We don’t know if she has any family yet. This just happened, monsieur.”   
“When, exactly?” asked Nico.   
“Early this morning. Several of the locals notified the police when they heard screams, but when we got here, she was already gone, and, well, there was this mess.”   
Dupin glanced up, “It’s likely these two murders are not connected by motive.”   
“But by murderer?”  
Dupin nodded, “These marks are the exact same ones I found on Mademoiselle L’Espanaye’s body. I’ll measure them for sure later, but I will say this now, they look almost exact.”   
“So the murderer came here looking for something to eat, but when she found out he had no money, she refused to give him much, if any. Then he turned on her and killed her, and what, sat here to eat his spoils?”   
“It certainly looks that way, my liege, a rather horrendous act.”   
“A rather cold one,” muttered Nico.   
“Not if you’re thinking about starving to death, but yes, it is a rather cold scene. And of course he was already long gone by the time anyone got here. So not only is this guy strong, he’s pretty fast too.”   
“And slick. Someone had to have see him coming and leaving.” Nico turned to the officer, “When you make your inquiries, ask them if they noticed someone dressed in an animal costume or coat. We have evidence that points to this.”   
The officer nodded, “We’ll be sure to keep that in mind. Doctor Dupin, do you want us to bring the body to your laboratory once we have finished with our investigation here?”   
“Yes, please do, catching this criminal is our top priority. Seigneur di Angelo, Monsieur Erik, would you like to stay and help us find some clues?”  
“Yes, thank you, and you can call me Nico.”   
“You may refer to me simply as Erik, no need for formalities.”   
“Very well, I shall take a look around the body.”   
“Alright, we’ll take a look at the fruit stand.” The officer helped Dupin search for clues around the body of Danielle, while Erik and Nico searched through pits and peels. Nico glanced at the stand as he neared it, and paused. Something was sticking out of it.   
“Erik,” he muttered. His butler glanced up as Nico plucked something from the stand.   
“Did you find something?” asked Dupin as he and the officer joined them.   
“More hair, or fur, if you’d rather,” replied Nico as he handed off the clue to Dupin.   
Dupin nodded, “So it would seem. There weren’t any major clues I could find around the body, and the poor woman can’t leave this place until Gobelin has seen it, so, may I suggest we return to my laboratory?”  
Nico nodded, “By all means, but first, I need to know something.” He turned to the officer, “How did you know where to find us?”   
“Begging your pardon, Monsieur, but, when Doctor Dupin isn’t at his laboratory as usual when there’s a case, he’s at the crime scene.”   
“Oh, I see.”   
Dupin chuckled, “They’ve learned quickly. Come on, I want to compare those hairs.” They called on a cab that took them back to the laboratory. It wasn’t a long ride, so when they entered the building, Erik revealed that he had quickly searched the grounds of the L’Espanaye house.   
“Oh no, we didn’t even get to that! Did you find anything?”  
Erik nodded as he took something out of his pocket, “I did, sir, and I think this belongs to our star witness.” He handed Dupin a strand of ribbon. Nico noticed with a hint of disgust that it was somewhat greasy and rather well-worn.   
Dupin showed it to Nico, “Have you ever seen something like this before?”   
Nico glanced at it, “I’m not sure, I want to say no, but, I also want to say yes.”   
“You have, my liege, you just don’t recall simply because you are not around them very often.”   
Nico glanced at Erik, “What do you mean?” Dupin nodded at Erik before taking the ribbon and the hair to the lab table.   
“It’s the ribbon commonly worn by sailors, sir, and gondoliers,” Erik explained as he and Nico followed.  
Nico gasped, “Then that means a sailor is our star witness!”   
Dupin nodded, “Correct, and I have an idea on how to bring him out. If our hunch is correct, then he can tell us everything.”  
“Are the hairs the same?” asked Nico.   
“The exact same, except the sample you found had some blood on it, meaning the culprit could have been injured when leaving the scene.”  
“And that it could be a real animal,” muttered Nico. Dupin and Erik glanced at him. “Think about it, a French sailor was at the scene, why? Why is it that none of the witnesses could pinpoint the language the culprit used? Unless it wasn’t using a language at all, it was making animal sounds.”  
“And what animal do you suggest could do all of this?”   
“A gorilla.”   
“But a gorilla has black hair, this is almost a dark reddish brown.”  
“Alright, a large ape of some kind, I don’t know all of them, but I do know of gorillas, and I know they can get big and strong.”  
Dupin rubbed his chin, “I think you’re onto something.”   
“Excuse me, if I may, we can find out for sure.”   
“What’s your idea, Erik?” asked Dupin.   
“Let us put in an ad in the paper about finding a large ape with dark reddish brown fur and wishing to return it to its owner. If we are correct, our star witness will show up, being the sailor who owned it at one time.”  
Dupin nodded, “A very good idea. Have the ad also say to come to this address tomorrow at eleven.”  
“What are you going to do?” asked Nico as Dupin threw on his coat.   
“I’m going to do a bit of research at the zoo, try to figure out a way that we can catch this ape before it feels the need to kill again to survive.”   
Nico nodded, “Good idea, we should probably get the zoo involved and . . .”  
“Oh, you’re back already? Found some interesting clues at the merchant’s fruit stand?” asked Gobelin as he walked in.   
“Why yes Gobelin, I think we just about have this case cracked,” began Dupin.   
“Really? I’d have thought with the three of you working on it, it would have been solved by now!”  
“Well, actually . . .”  
“Sorry, before us. I came to tell you that we’ve got our man.”   
“What?” all three exclaimed.   
“Yes sir, a fellow by the name of Adolphe le Bon has been found to know all three women, in fact, the young fruit merchant was none other than Madame le Bon. But it seems that Mr. le Bon was having an affair with Mademoiselle L’Espanaye, he’d disappear into their house for hours at a time and be found walking several blocks away only a few minutes later! Very strange indeed, don’t you think? I have my men searching the L’Espanaye house for secret tunnels at this very moment.”   
“So how do you explain the eaten fruit?”   
“I beg your pardon?”   
“Who ate all the fruit at Madame le Bon’s fruit stand? Why didn’t that person come forward with info about the murderer, or even inform the police that a woman had died?” asked Nico.   
“Probably figured we’d suspect them first of being the culprit, so just ate the fruit and ran.”   
“But nobody saw anyone leaving the scene, homeless or not. And there were people gathering at the scene fairly soon after they heard the screams.”  
“Um . . . but Adolphe has no alibi!”  
“Listen, Gobelin, we have a hunch about the culprit, we were setting out to figure out if we are in fact correct.”  
“Oh really, and what is this hunch?”   
Nico opened his mouth to speak, but Dupin cut him off, “We don’t have time to talk right now Gobelin, we need to act. Come by tomorrow at eleven, and all will be explained. Just don’t prosecute le Bon yet. If our hunch is correct, you will have to let him go. If we are wrong, then you may proceed with le Bon as your prime suspect. Deal?”  
Gobelin shook Dupin’s hand, “Alright, deal. I’ll be here tomorrow at eleven.”   
“Very good, now if you don’t mind, we must be on our way.” With that, the four left, each going their separate ways.


	5. Dupin's Clue

Erik and Nico arrived at Dupin’s laboratory a good fifteen minutes early, as requested in a note sent to them that morning by Dupin.   
“Why did you want us here so early?” asked Nico the instant they saw the doctor.  
“I have learned a few things about apes, I’ve even informed the zoo of our suspicions and got their promise to aid us in capturing the brute. But I passed up the second crime scene on the way back and began to wonder if I could try to figure out where the ape is going based on the second crime’s location in comparison to the first to figure out a possible direction it could have taken, and to find out if there are any indication that it has been moving.”   
“And what did you find?”  
Dupin laid out a map on the table, “He seems to be heading in a northeasterly direction. I’ve already sent messages to the zoo of my suspicions, I hope they’re sending out men right now to search for him. I’m thinking that once we are through here with his former master, we may aid in the search.”   
Nico nodded, “A good idea. What else did you find out?”   
Dupin pursed his lips, “Some bad news, actually.”  
Nico and Erik blinked, “What?”   
“We were both right, I think.”   
“What do you mean?”   
“There was no ape with this shade of hair, but I found two apes that could possibly produce this color, an Ourang-Outang and a gorilla. An Ourang-Outang is by no means large enough to even remotely pose a threat, a gorilla, on the other hand, is. But the Ourang-Outang is the only ape with red fur, while the gorilla has black. And what would happen if you mixed these colors?” Dupin produced a reddish-tawny fur and black fur before showing the fur they found at the scenes.   
Nico’s mouth dropped, “A mix?”  
Dupin nodded, “Which would make it rather valuable, and possibly unstable, especially now that it’s wounded. We have to be careful, and fast.”  
“Shouldn’t we be out there searching, then? I mean, you and Gobelin can be here to get the sailor’s tale, more for Gobelin’s sake than ours, but at least the two of us can start searching.”   
“Are you sure?”   
“Doctor Dupin, we found that fur at both crime scenes, let’s try to prevent a third, shall we?” Nico glanced at the map. “So, if I was a hungry, wounded ape heading northeast . . . where would the next fruit stand or grocer’s be?”   
Dupin pointed to a street, “The majority of fruit stands are along this avenue, and a few down these two. He’ll probably aim for the fruit stands, they’re more open.”   
“Perfect for an ape to swoop down, grab some fruit, and climb away.”   
“What? An ape? Is that who you think did this?” blurted Gobelin. “And why is this sailor here?” The sailor in question walked in after Gobelin.   
“You, you mean you haven’t caught him? He’s still out there?”   
“He is a mix of gorilla and Ourang-Outang, isn’t he?” asked Dupin. The sailor nodded.   
“And you were on that lightning rod when Madame L’Espanaye and her daughter died?” asked Erik. Another nod.   
“Say what?” blurted Gobelin.   
“It was your ape, not you, who killed those women?” asked Nico. Again, a nod.  
“What?” stuttered Gobelin. Nico and Erik went straight for the door.   
“I must apologise for our quick exit, but we’ll let you get the details. The more people we have out searching for this ape, the faster we’ll find him. Good day, Doctor, Prefect, Monsieur.”   
Dupin nodded, “Good luck, we’ll be joining you soon.” Nico and Erik gave a bow and walked out the door. They quickly hailed a cab and Erik told him where to go.   
“Can people see through these curtains once they’re closed?”   
“Are you sure it’s a good idea?” asked Erik as he closed the curtains.  
“It’s the fastest thing we have at the moment, and it’ll be better if I went by myself, just in case the driver asks any questions or need further directions.”   
“But the places you’ll come out at?”   
“I’ve been practising with wrapping the shadows around me. No time like the present to see if that works. I’ll need more practise to wrap it around anything or anyone else with me.”   
“Well good, at least you’re practising your powers and finding out what you can do. Apparently your powers work well for a detective.”  
Nico gave a sad smile, “Let’s just hope it’s enough to save another life.” With that, he shadow-traveled.


	6. Aping Around

Nico took several quick trips before reporting back to Erik in the negative. He couldn’t find a single sign that the ape had even gone down the street, no messed up fruit stands, no complaining merchants about stolen food, nothing but a busy marketplace.   
“Where is he?” grumbled Nico as he paused for a rest in the carriage.   
“You can’t just snap your fingers and find him instantly, I’m afraid that’s not one of your demigod powers. It’s something every detective has to work at.”  
Nico, however, was thinking, “What if I can’t find him because he’s not here?”   
Erik shrugged, “There’s that too.”  
“No, think about it, why those women? What really separates them from everyone else?”   
“It was dark when it happened,” began Erik.   
“Yes, that’s one thing. The other thing was that it was quiet, so quiet that everyone could hear the screams.”  
“And this street is too packed, even for you.”   
“Exactly, what if it’s too much for him too? We should start checking the side street vendors.”  
“Right.” Erik redirected the cab driver as Nico shadow-traveled again. This time, he didn’t have to do as much wrapping as before, the streets were emptier, and much more quieter. Nico did prefer the quiet and solitude much more than most, but this quiet was deafening, almost like the quiet before the storm, and it concerned him. He quickly set about his search before reporting to Erik and shadow-traveling to the next spot.   
Almost as soon as he stepped out of the shadows, like a clap of thunder, two noises broke the silence. One was a soft, scared whimpering, the other was a growl. Nico gulped as he peeked around the corner, he had found his adversary. The ape looked more gorilla than Ourang-Outang, and that made Nico worried not just about its size, as it was clearly bigger than him, but also its strength. Nico was pretty strong and tough for his size, but he wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to hold out against a bigger and probably stronger wild animal. The whimpering was coming from a small girl trying to curl up into a ball in the corner the ape was backing her into, giving it full reign over her fruit stand. Nico poised himself to rush to her aid, but then the ape simply turned, sat, and began to much away at the fruit stand. It didn’t even pay any mind when the girl slowly and quietly crawled out from the corner. Nico got her attention and waved her over to him. She slowly walked towards him, keeping an eye more on the ape than where she was going, and let out a shriek when her foot slipped on the wet cobblestone. The ape let out a roar, and the girl screamed. Nico found a pole and rushed out to plant himself between the ape and the girl.   
“Hey! Sit, eat!” The ape was surprised and seemed to calm down. Thinking that it worked, Nico turned to the girl to help her up.  
“Look out!” Nico turned and raised the pole, just in time for the ape to grab it. It roared in his face as the two began to grapple with the pole. He could feel every muscle strain in trying to push back the ape. Nico let out a yelp as the ape slammed him against the wall, but he refused to let go of the pole, otherwise he would have been crushed easily.   
“Erik . . . carriage . . . zookeeper!” he gasped as he began to pull the ape away from the girl. The girl got up and dashed off, Nico hoped in search of a zookeeper or Erik as he could feel himself weakening fast. He let out a gasp as, almost in slow motion, his foot slipped out from under him and he fell, the ape nearly falling on top of him, but his grip on the pole saved him from having the ape falling on top of him. The ape recovered quickly and began to push on the pole. Nico’s determination to live kicked in, just barely keeping the pole from crushing his throat. But the animal was stronger, and the pole kept getting closer. Pressure from the pole was released as the ape let go of the pole and wrapped its hands around Nico’s throat, and began to squeeze. Nico rammed the pole into the ape’s stomach, causing it back to up and growl in pain. Nico coughed as he began to rise and glared defiantly at the ape. Next thing he knew, the ape lurched forward, unconscious. A familiar mask came into his line of vision as a pair of arms caught him before he too fell into unconsciousness.


	7. Resting Rescuer

When Nico regained consciousness two days later, everything had been squared away. Adolphe le Bon was released from prison, the sailor was only charged with not keeping a wild and potentially dangerous animal in check, while the wild and potentially dangerous animal was being taken care of at the zoo. The little orphan girl Nico rescued was promptly adopted by Helene and Elliot and was finally given a name, Nicole, the three forging a bond almost instantaneously. There were reporters going in and out of the house for a while, but it wasn’t until everything had died down a week later that Nico finally got all the details. Doctor Dupin arrived at dinner one evening at the James residence for that very purpose.   
“Ah, that really hits the spot. You’ve got a great cook, Elliot,” stated Dupin as he sat back in his chair.   
“Thank you, Paul, I’m just glad my two patients are doing so well.” Elliot smiled at Nico and Nicole.   
“I’m glad they’re doing great as well, though, you must admit, Nico did give us quite the scare.”   
“Sorry,” mumbled Nico.   
“Sorry? What you did was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen. You put yourself in danger to save Nicole and give us enough time to get a tranquilizer into the ape. There’s no need for you to be sorry, you did the best thing you could have done.”   
“Well, thank you, Doctor Dupin.”   
“Though I would have preferred it if Erik or one of the men handled the ape instead of you, Nico,” stated Helene.   
Nico scoffed, “No argument there.” The others chuckled.   
“But I am happy Nico was there, otherwise, I wouldn’t be here!” smiled Nicole.   
Helene hugged her, “I’m happy you’re here too, the both of you.” She smiled at Nico.   
“Well, not to be rude or anything, but I must request that you and Nicole leave for a while. I’m sure Nico would like the particulars of the mystery, and there are details not for delicate ears.”   
“I understand. Come on Nicole, I have something to show you.”  
“Ooh, what is it?” Nicole squealed before following her new mother up the stairs. The gentlemen moved to the sitting room with a bottle of wine.   
“So, um, what happened after Erik and I left your laboratory?”   
“Well, Gobelin went about quite the right way into scaring that poor sailor, fuming on and on about how it was the sailor’s duty to bring such information to the police so they wouldn’t make fools of themselves and arrest an innocent man. But once I was able to calm our great prefect down, I was able to worm out the information we needed to confirm our suspicions. Our sailor friend acquired the ape from the Indian Archipelago with a companion, but upon his companion’s passing, the creature fell to his care. He came to Paris with the intention of selling it, once its foot had fully healed from a splinter it had gotten off their boat. On the night of the murders, the sailor had gone out to a party, searching for some fun and someone to sell the ape to, but left for home without a prospective buyer. Upon his arrival at his apartment, he found the ape had broken free of the closet he had locked it in and had lathered itself up with shaving cream with the razor in its hand. The ape must have seen its master shave himself several times and was attempting to mimic him. The sailor attempted to get the razor from the ape, concerned that the ape would hurt itself or him. But the ape kept out of his reach, and got out the door. The ape was looking for some fun, though the sailor was now worried about someone getting hurt and again tried to catch the ape, but the ape continued to stay out of reach. What attracted the ape to the residence of the L’Espanayes was that the lights were still on. The ape quickly climbed the lightning rod and jumped into the room with the aid of an open shutter. The women did not notice until the beast tried to shave their faces. By this time, the sailor had climbed up and tried to jump in himself, when the women began to scream and threw the ape into a frenzy. With the razor, the ape, well, you know what happened to Madame L’Espanaye. When she passed, it turned its attention to her daughter, who had fainted, and strangled her. The ape looked out the window, and seeing its master, began to fear being punished, it would seem, and hid the women in the places where they were found before vacating the premises the same way it came. The sailor had already climbed down and taken off, not wanting to be found at the scene of the crime, leaving the ape to fend for itself. The death of Madame le Bon came of that as the creature was practically starving, and apparently didn’t care that the body was out in the open as it only thought of surviving. And of course, you know full well what happened with Nicole.”  
“Yes, too well,” winced Nico.  
“Yes, unfortunately. Why did you not let Erik handle the ape, instead of trying to play the hero yourself?”   
“I didn’t think that I would have to fight the creature, I thought that being smaller, I could maneuver around the ape in a way that Erik couldn’t. And I would seem less threatening. Not only that, Erik is taller than me and could run faster, making him the better choice to find the zookeepers faster.”  
“I see, you are right, that was the most logical choice. It was rather providential that you showed up when you did.”   
“That’s what the officer said when I showed up at the crime scene!” blurted Nico.  
“Really?” asked Dupin, as his eyebrow raised.   
“To be fair, this whole thing seems providential, especially the part where neither you nor Miss Nicole perished at the hands of the ape,” pointed out Erik.  
Nico rubbed his neck, “Yeah, that too.”   
“Well, it seems that the mystery of the Rue Morgue has been wrapped up quite nicely, wouldn’t you say?”   
Nico chuckled, “Quite.”   
Elliot nodded, “Very well, now perhaps there may be no more mysteries for the rest of your stay here?”   
“I certainly hope not.”  
Elliot raised an eyebrow, “Certainly hope not?”  
Nico grinned sheepishly, “Sorry, a good mystery grabs my attention more than an opera.” The men laughed.   
“I think I’ll agree with you somewhat on that, Nico. Well, thank you most kindly for dinner, Doctor James, it was wonderful.”   
“Not at all, it was a pleasure having you, but are you sure you must leave so early?”   
“I’m afraid so, I have to get up early to take care of a few things before I get to work on another case. A much less gruesome one, and one that will basically solve itself, but the police needs me to check a few things before they continue with the prosecution.”   
“Right, well, good luck with that, and you are welcome to join us for dinner when you want,” stated Elliot as he shook hands with Dupin.   
“Thank you, that’s kind of you, I will certainly keep that in mind. Well, good night.”   
“Elliot, can you come here for a second?”   
“Of course, my love, I’ll be there in a second! Doctor Dupin is just leaving.”   
“Oh, did you give him the invitation?”   
“Yes, dear.”   
“And I accept,” smiled Dupin.  
“Wonderful! A good night to you Doctor.”  
“Good night, Madame, and a good night to Nicole.”  
Elliot turned to Nico, “Could you see Doctor Dupin to the door please? I’ll go see what Helene needs.”   
“Of course!”   
“Thank you.” Elliot went up the stairs while Nico walked Dupin to the door.   
“Good night Nico, it was a pleasure working with you.”  
“Good night Doctor, it was a pleasure working with you as well.”   
“You still don’t trust me?”  
“I-I beg your pardon?”  
“Come Nico, I’m not stupid, you clearly know exactly what it is your father does. And there are other questions that come to mind, particularly concerning the finding of the ape and saving Nicole. No boy your age has ever shown such strength or endurance against such a large opponent. There are boys who are very strong, but none as strong as you, it would seem. And may I assume that your hosts and Nicole know not of your secrets?”   
Nico gulped, “N-no, they don’t know, and, and I can’t tell you either.”   
“Why? What are you afraid of?”   
“Losing your friendship,” whispered Nico.   
“Why would your secrets threaten our friendship?”   
“Because, if you knew, you’d understand, if you knew, you’d be afraid of me.”   
“And Erik’s secret?”   
“Maybe you could know of that sooner because . . . well, I’d say it’s not as bad of a secret as mine, considering that it really is a deformity of his body, though it is most noticeable on his face.”  
“Oh, then does your secret have anything to do with not being able to fatten you up and with how pale you are?”   
“Y . . . yes.”  
“Hmm . . . and you are sure you won’t reveal it to me now?” Nico shook his head. “Very well, I will press you no further, but I want you to remember this, I will figure it out sooner or later, though it would be better if you came forward with it on your own. And Nico, no matter what your secrets are, yours and Erik’s, know this, it will not change what I think of either of you, nor who you are. You see, the boy and the butler I know are strong, brave, wise, and kind, and no secret, no matter how horrible you may think it, can change that. Good night.” Dupin left after that comment, hoping it left the desired effect.   
Nico only sighed after the door had closed, “You’ll think differently once you find out.”   
“If he even believes you,” pointed out Erik.   
Nico scoffed, “Yeah, then let’s just hope he doesn’t believe us.”  
“You’ll tell him?”  
Nico nodded, “Before we leave. I’m going to bed, good night.”   
“Good night, my liege, sweet dreams.”   
“If there’s any left for a son of Hades,” mumbled Nico before turning in, beginning to hope for another mystery to take his mind off his troubles. But as anyone could tell him, he needed to be careful of what he wished for.


End file.
